One of the new trends in travel is tours of the ghettos and slums to get an idea of how large portions of the developing world really live. There were several tours offered in Time Out Buenos Aires to visit the villas de miseria or more politically correctly: villas de emergencia in the outskirts of town.

How to not get groped on the Mexico City Subway: Women Only cars

Mexico City authorities have taken the measure of offering only women and children cars on the city subway during peak hours of its use. During rush hour, this barrier is in place while several police monitor entry to the cars. Why? Because so many women were tired of being groped and worse on the city subway.

I went for a run today, and then went to the grocery store after the park. While I was walking home from the grocery store, carrying my groceries, I got cat-called 3 or 4 times. I was wearing head phones so I didn't know what they were saying but I could see them. Usually In a walk to of from somewhere I will get one on average, and delivery trucks with two men in them are almost a guarantee-- maybe because they aren't in their own car, they are bored, and they have a buddy to back them up so they feel more bold. This time it was two grocery store employees together, two pairs in delivery trucks, and then the one that inspired me to write this post.

A commercial for a skin-whitening lotion called White Secret has inspired some musings about race and skin color in Mexico. A few thoughts.

Hello again, from the biggest city in the world!* A few weekends ago, I went to a very fresa bar with some of my lawyer friends here (young feminist lawyers from the organization I work for). Fresa, in Mexico, means rich, snooty, haughty, etc. Literally, it means strawberry, and it is used to describe the upscale young people of which there are multitude in Mexico City. First clue: you have to buy a bottle to sit a table, and bottles were around US$130. WHAT!? Bottles of alcohols like Bacardi and Absolut cost about US$15 in the grocery stores here.